Nana and Grandpa's visit!

So much to blog about, so little time...

We had a wonderful visit by Nana and Grandpa, and wanted to post some pictures of it. Unfortunately I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, but here's what I've got:

 Garrett had a great flag football season--his nickname was the "slippery seal," because no one could catch him! He shared a bit of wisdom with me one day when he said, "Mom, you know what I've learned about flag football? It's a good idea to get there early so you can pick the shortest flag, because if you get a long one, you're gonna step on your flag and tackle yourself." So wise!

 Kalia catching a nap on the floor. She is such a sweet baby.

Ty had a great season playing tackle football--they took second place overall. (ty is front left in pic)

Grant had his first field trip to the apple orchard--in addition to apples he picked a pumpkin and wanted to make a pumpkin pie out of it.

 We ate most of it before we remembered to take a picture, but here it is--it was delicious!

 Miya, Kalia and I joined Grant for a bit at the apple orchard

 Breakfast at school with Nana and Grandpa! The kids get one ticket per family member they bring with them to the breakfast, and then get to enter their tickets for a drawing for a free book. Luck (and sheer numbers) was on our side and Shayla, Garrett and Grant were all selected to pick out a free book. Sweet!

 Garrett and Grant with Nana and Grandpa

 Nana and Grandpa knelt down for a picture with Miya and so she knelt down too.

 Nana and Kalia bonding time

 Grandpa working on the fabulous new storage above our garage.

It is amazing how much storage space it adds--we love it!

 Apple orchard with Nana and Grandpa. Feeding the chickens was the highlight as the apple crop was very slim this year due to early rains/frost.

 The mums at the apple orchard were beautiful!

Grandpa and Kalia at the gym watching the kids do gymnastics (Shayla's favorite pastime)
We had such a nice visit and enjoyed being spoiled by all the extra help. I could sleep-in in the mornings while Nana and Grandpa got the kids off to school and I so enjoyed my extra snuggle time with Kalia. Grandpa got all of my projects around the house done (hooray!!!) and Nana kept the household running smoothly with delicious meals and all-around help.
Come again soon!!!

The rest of the story...

I thought I would record Kalia's birth story while it is still fresh on my mind. She is 2 weeks old today and such a sweet baby. She even sleeps at night for a 5 to 6 hour stretch so i can get some sleep--so thoughtful of her! (Okay, i am finishing this up finally--Kalia is now 3 weeks old and sleeping less at night--3 hour stretches. I shouldn't have jinxed myself by bragging about what a good sleeper she was :)

She was born 8 days early, so i wasn't expecting to go into labor. Actually, I had everything all planned out that she would be born Monday, Sept. 24th, right after I played the piano for the primary program at church, so I was totally sure she wouldn't be earlier than that. Funny how things never go as I plan...Well, I started having some painful contractions Tuesday night at Ty's football game, but i just ignored them because everyone knows that Braxton Hick's contractions really do hurt ( I don't believe anyone who says they don't because they DO HURT!) But the contractions went away and I was able to get a really decent sleep that night, so woke up on the 19th feeling great.

I started having contractions again, and this time was just really annoyed, because I knew they were just more Braxton Hicks and they were driving me crazy. I started recording the contractions around 9am since they weren't going away, but still was in denial that it was the real thing. Miya and I went grocery shopping, still timing contractions (they were about 20 to 25 minutes apart), since the house was empty of all food and I thought if it really was the real thing the least I could do was have some food in the house so the family could fend for themselves. Then I met a friend at the bagel shop at 11. After I had had 2 contractions there at the bagel shop I started to realize this was the real deal, and my sweet friend started freaking out and made me go home and call tyler :) She had also made a huge pot of chicken noodle soup as a birthday gift, so she sent me home with that (her timing couldn't have been more perfect).

So, Tyler came home from work and we were just hanging out at home waiting to go to the hospital until the contractions got closer together. I always have 8 to 12 hour labors, so I thought Kalia wouldn't be born until 8pm or so. At 2:30pm my contractions were getting really strong, but were still spaced out--between 7 and 15 minutes apart, so I thought i still had time. Ty got off the bus at 3:15 and we told him that we would be leaving soon for the hospital and that he would watch the kids, feed them the soup at dinner time and then a friend was coming to take him to scouts and Shayla to activity days while another friend watched the kids. Shayla, Garrett and Grant get off the bus at 4, so I thought we could wait until then and then jet off to the hospital. When 4 o'clock hit I started having these huge contractions one right after the other (2 to 3 minutes apart) and I started to get worried.

Grant got off the bus crying because the bus driver had gotten mad at him, so Tyler was trying to calm him down, and i was trying to stay calm. We had family prayer, got the kids settled and Tyler gave me a blessing and we walked out the door at 4:23pm. That was the last contraction I have timed on my app, because they were coming one right after the other and I was in no state of mind to time my contractions anymore.

Tyler said, "I just have to stop by the church and unlock the door really quick." (He had agreed to open the church for one of the youth who was going to do some service there). I said, "I think I waited too long!!" and he went to the church anyway--I couldn't really talk coherently to argue with him, so i just tried to get through my contractions. I think we pulled into the hospital parking lot at 4:29, and I was needing to push already. We parked really close to the front doors, but I couldn't walk very well because the contractions were so strong. Some nice man saw us and ran and got a wheelchair and Tyler ran me through the hospital. My water broke on the way to OB and Kalia was born barely after I got to the room at 4:33pm.

Crazy!!! I think I was in shock as I looked down at my baby girl in my arms, looked over at Tyler, and then saw my dr. walk in the door. She looked like she was in shock, too :) The doctor who ran down the hall with us to show us where OB was ended up delivering our baby.

It was pretty funny when Tyler called the kids 15 minutes after we left the house to tell them they had a new little sister. I could hear Ty on the phone, "What?!! Already? She's already been born?" I tried to tell the kids that this is not usually how fast it goes...So Tyler went home and picked the kids up a few hours later and brought them to meet their little sister. So fun to see each of them fall in love with Kalia and hold her so tenderly.

I am just so thankful that she wasn't born in the van--Tyler joked that she was almost named Odyssey. Then he said we had a baby faster than you can get a big mac through the drive-thru, and then Ty piped up, "Hey, it's like Jimmy Johns--Freaky Fast Delivery!!" I'm still laughing about that.

All in all, I'm grateful for Kalia's quick entry into this world. I have had a great recovery so far and am so in love with my little girl. A few pics to offset my huge amount of writing...

Kalia Jeannette--don't you just love her ballet-slipper-socks? I wish they had them in my size.

We had a wonderful visit from my Mom. So glad you could come out Mom, and so thankful for all of your help making the transition to 6 much smoother than it would have been alone!

 Mom watched the kids so I could go for my annual haircut--it had gotten long enough that I could donate it!

Saying goodbye to Grandma...Kalia is loving our chandelier

Three generations (Kalia is still staring at the chandelier :)

The newest Hacking!

Getting ready to leave for the hospital...(we barely made it in time, but that's a story for another day...)

Introducing...

Kalia Jeannette Hacking

Born September 19, 2012

4:33pm

Weighing 6 lbs. 13 oz., 20" long

She was 8 days early and anxious to start her life here on earth.

 Just moments after birth...

 Bonding time with Kalia

 All of our kids have weighed the same within a few ounces of each other (besides Grant--he was our big bruiser at 7 lbs. 5 oz.)

 Daddy's little girl

 Miya adores her baby sister. Her two favorite sentences these days are, "I love you my baby," and "I want to pet my baby."

 Grant loves to hold Kalia

 So does Garrett. He loves how soft her hair is, and thinks it is cool she has a cowlick like him.

Shayla says Kalia is the MOST beautiful baby in the whole world!

Ty adores his little sister. 

 The whole crew

Kalia is such a sweet baby-so bright-eyed and alert when she is awake

 Kalia getting ready to come home from the hospital

Home sweet home!

A smattering of photos...

Well, since I can't sleep--almost 9 months pregnant and can't seem to get comfortable, I might as well post some pictures. It has been a crazy, busy past few months, but filled with good things. I'll post some pictures to document some of the events.

Celebrating Grant's 5th birthday with Mexican food!

Grant requested the oreo-pudding-fresh berry dessert that is becoming a favorite around here.

Can't believe he is 5 already! 

 I don't know why my camera is acting up, but this is the before picture of our living room before we had the wood floor installed.

Ta-da!!! We love the wood floor as it really opens up the area, and makes our dining area bigger.

 Grant, Garrett and Shayla making posters for the Green Bay Packers

We were able to get free tickets through the Boosters Football program, so I loaded up the kids and headed for Green Bay (about 4 hours away).  We had a blast, even thought the Packers lost. 

It was their first pre-season game against the Browns.

 Packer's Mania!!!

 Lambeau Field is amazing! We had such a good time. Wish Tyler could have been there, but he was traveling...

Here he is next to a giant Budda. From August 15 to Sept. 15th he visited China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil and Chile (I think I missed a few countries in there...) and was gone for 25 days. We were so glad when he got home last Friday--home to stay now until after our baby arrives!!!

 6th grade band for Ty--we now have a percussionist in the family!

 8-months pregnant baby! Taken on Aug. 27th.

 Miya's first night in the bottom bunk, sharing a room with Shayla. She is notorious for getting out of bed to play, but at least she doesn't leave the room. She will happily play for hours until I threaten to put her in the baby crib to sleep. She loves being so grown up and can't wait to share everything with her baby sister. Let's just hope that excitement holds up to the reality of losing her place as the center of the universe.

Football season has begun! Ty playing tackle and Garrett playing flag.

 The last hoorah of summer! Camping at Willow River State Park with friends. 

This is the fort the kids built and hung out in--I was quite impressed!

 Hiking--I hiked down all the hills and then waited at the beach for a ride back :) Not a bad way to hike.

 Lots of beach time--Shayla and Miya building sand castles

Ty and Jackson had a blast canoeing in the river--not sure if they spent more time in the river after swamping it or in the canoe...

Catching frogs at night--a favorite with the kids

 Back to reality--first day of Middle School for Ty!

 First day of 4th grade for Shayla!

 First day of 2nd Grade for Garrett!

 And first day of Kindergarten for Grant!

 Getting off the bus on the first day--so grown up!

 The Running of the Llamas in Hammond, WI.  Yes, llamas. The owners of all of the llamas in the area race them down main street for the grand prize of a bucket of salad greens. They race in groups of 4 and then the winners of the first heats race each other for the title of grand champion. The kids had a blast picking who would win and cheering on their llamas. (you can see some of the llamas in the background of this pic).

Oh, the suspense, waiting for the race to begin

I realized i haven't taken "after" pictures of our finished basement. I'll try to post some soon. For now, all I have are these of the under-the-stairs-kid hideout.

A talented friend of mine painted a mural on the wall of scenes from the cabin. she used chalk-board paint, so the kids can draw with chalk on the walls and add their own details to the scene. It turned out great, and the kids love hanging out in their fort!

Here is the other wall--across from it is a moose in the water.

It's a little piece of the cabin here in Wisconsin--we love it!